LATEST.. The IW Grand National & Ashey Scurry which was scheduled for Sunday 25th March has now been cancelled by the organisers we will however still be running trains on this day All operating days and events can be found on our YOUR VISIT - Timetables page BOOKINGS for SANTA and both BOXING and NEW YEAR'S DAY are already being taken. Please note that these events now have to be pre-booked and seating is allocated

BOOK YOUR TICKET

•service update•

MON19MAR

No Trains Today

WE ARE NEXT OPERATING ON

Thursday 22 March

Overhaul Plan Announced for Ivatt 41313

Partnership Between Two Railways Extended to Bring Another Ivatt Locomotive Back to Steam!

As Ivatt Class 2 tender locomotive No.46447 returned to steam at the East Somerset Railway on Sunday 26th October, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and the East Somerset Railway were very pleased to announce that agreement has now been reached to enable Ivatt tank locomotive No. 41313 to be restored to working order.

41313 is propelled towards the Mechanical Engineering Works at Havenstreet on the evening of 3rd August 2006, the day she arrived at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

The new agreement follows the successful two-year restoration of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway owned No. 46447 at the East Somerset Railway. With full restoration completed within the agreed two year project period, No. 46447 hauled its first passenger trains during a day of celebration at the East Somerset Railway on Sunday 26th October 2014. The locomotive will then remain at Cranmore – the home of the East Somerset Railway - on a ten year loan.

Ivatt Class 2 46447 rolls into Cranmore Station on 26th October 2014, the day she hauled her first passenger train in 48 years following overhaul at the East Somerset Railway.

Following the success of the 46447 project at the East Somerset Railway, an opportunity to further develop the partnership with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway has arisen. A deal has been reached for the East Somerset Railway to overhaul No. 41313 on a commercial basis with an estimated completion timescale of two years. When complete, this locomotive will then return to the Island where it will operate regular passenger services at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, alongside fellow Ivatt tank locomotive No. 41298 which itself is nearing the end of its restoration in the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s workshops at Havenstreet. Following recent successful steam tests, it is anticipated the work on 41298 will be complete during 2015 and it will then commence passenger steam services on the Isle of Wight’s five mile line.

Propelled by Hunslet 'Austerity' No.WD198 'Royal Engineer', 41313 is seen at Ashey Grounds during a November 2008 gauging trial.

In announcing the new agreement, Isle of Wight Steam Railway General Manager Peter Vail said, “We’ve been really pleased to see the rapid progress made by the East Somerset Railway leading to the completion of 46447 in just two years so, while our own workshops focus on completing Ivatt stable-mate 41298 and maintaining our regular operating fleet, contracting out 41313 with a potential return to service on the Island in 2017 just makes sense. Our Railway continues to enjoy a steady growth in business which, in 2014, has been boosted by the opening of our new Train Story Discovery Centre, so it will be a great asset to have 41313 back in steam far quicker than originally anticipated.”

All three Ivatt locomotives - the two tank locomotives 41298 and 41313, and the tender locomotive 46447 – were originally saved for preservation in the late 1960s by the Ivatt Locomotive Trust. They were generously gifted to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway by the Trust in June 2009.

41313 on the Shed Roads at Havenstreet.

Summarising the benefits of the partnership between the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and the East Somerset Railway, IW Steam Railway Chairman Steve Oates said, “In utilising the skills and engineering capacity availability at the East Somerset Railway, it is anticipated we will see all three Ivatt locomotives back in service very soon. With other pressures, it was originally envisaged that 46447 and 41313 would form longer term projects on the Island. By striking these deals the winners are both railways and the railway preservation movement generally”.

41313 is currently on display in Train Story - and will soon be moving to Cranmore for overhaul!